PHARMACOGNOSY AND NUTRACEUTICALS

The course of Pharmacognosy and Nutraceuticals is aimed to train Students giving them those competences on: recognition, identification and biological properties of crude plant drugs; - uses of erboristic and nutraceutical products. At the end of the course the Student acquires the ability to:-identify the herbal drug and recognize the chemical structures that constitute the active ingredients, He knows the biological activity of herbal drugs and their application in the salutariness field; the Student is also able to independently assess the preparations of officinal plants, distinguishing an empirical use to use based on scientific evidence, and to give advice to users on their rational use in particular disorders, providing information on efficacy, side effects, contraindications, drug-health product interactions and toxicity of erboristic and nutraceutical products;-is able to follow the discoveries in the field of health products (erboristic/nutraceutical) by consulting the scientific literature.

Frontal lessons

Classroom exercises

Should teaching be carried out in mixed mode or remotely, it may be necessary to introduce changes with respect to previous statements, in line with the programme planned and outlined in the syllabus.

MODULO 1: GENERAL PHARMACOGNOSY (2 CFU)

Definition, history and aims of Pharmacognosy. Pharmacognosy today.

Traditional Medicine. Crude drug, phytocomplex, active component, medicinal and officinal plant, nutraceutical product, functional foods definition.

Preparation of plant drugs (harvest time, cleaning, drying, stabilization, sterilization). Principles of conservation of plant drugs (drying, freezing).

Preparations with vegetable drugs (powder, infusion, decoction, herbal tea, extract (fluid, soft, dry), tincture, mother tincture, SIPF (integral suspension of fresh plant), syrup, juice, glycolic extract, hydrolat, alcoholate, alcoolatures, enolite, oleolito, elixir, fixed oil, essential oil. Extract standardization.

MODULE 2: APPLIED PHARMACOGNOSY (1 CFU)

Quality control of plant crude drug

Preliminary Tests for crude drug identification

-morphological character examination (aspect, form and colour).

-organoleptic character examination (aroma and gust).

-physical character examination (consistence, anatomy, breach, fluorescence).

Microscopy Analyses

-production of organized and unorganized crude drugs preparations.

-methods of recognition and identification of structural distinctive elements (cellular inclusive, cellular structure).

Chemical-physical Analysis

-determination of humidity

-determination of hashes

-crude fibre

-index of swelling

-index of barm and hemolysis index

Biological assays

-biological assays of control.

-activity assays.

-biological dosage.

Principles of Phytovigilance.

MODULO 3: SPECIAL PHARMACOGNOSY (3 CFU)

Classification of herbal drugs.

Crude drugs containing carbohydrates: marshmallow, mallow, echinacea, gum arabic, gum tragacanth, karaya gum, guar gum, guggul gum, carob gum, manna, psyllium, algae, island lichen.

Crude drugs containing lipids: olive oil, corn oil, linseed oil, soybean oil, peanut oil, almond oil, enagra oil, jojoba oil, cocoa butter.

Glycosides: anthraquinones (senna, aloe, rhubarb, frangola, cascara), sulfur dioxide (garlic), saponinics (ginseng, eleutherococcus, astragalus, licorice, ruscus, horse-chestnut, centella, fenugreek, ivy), phenolics (bearberry), alcohol (willow).

Crude drugs containing terpenes: eucalyptus, lemon balm, mint, thyme, ginkgo, common chamomile, roman chamomile, valerian, calendula, cannabis, cinnamon, gentian, dandelion, ginger, rosemary, turmeric, cumin, fennel, lavender, saffron, arnica.

Crude drugs containing phenylpropanoids: milk thistle, artichoke, burdock, passionflower, hypericum, kava, propolis, blueberry, american blueberry, red vine, soy, agnocasto, chinese angelica, cimifuga, hawthorn, witch hazel, tea, ratania.

Crude drugs containing alkaloids: capsicum, boldo, opium, ephedra, bitter orange, coffee, maté, guarana, cola, cocoa.

Crude drugs containing steroids: digital.

MODULO 4: NUTRACEUTICALS (3 CFU)

Nutraceuticals: origin, quality and safety.

Nutraceuticals and central nervous system: coffee, hops, sage, tea, vine, saffron.

Nutraceuticals and cardiovascular system: garlic, olive, cocoa, pomegranate, flax, blueberry, sweet clover.

Nutraceuticals and metabolic disorders: red fermented rice, garlic, bergamot, soy, cinnamon, melannurca, artichoke.

Immunomodulatory nutraceuticals: garlic, chinese mushrooms, ginseng, cloves.

Nutraceuticals and inflammatory diseases: ginger, curcuma, oats, borage.

Nutraceuticals and respiratory system: elderberry, garlic, thyme, anise.

Nutraceuticals and gastrointestinal system: green tea, turmeric, black raspberry, ginger, chilli, fennel, wild blackberry, dandelion.

Nutraceuticals and eye disorders: black blueberry, chamomile, chinese sage.

Nutraceuticals and urinary system: parsley, spear grass, american cranberry.

Nutraceuticals and reproductive system: nettle, pumpkin, african plum, soy, red clover, flax.

Testi consigliati

1. Farmacognosia. F. Capasso, Ed. Springer.

2. Farmacognosia applicata. R. Capasso, F. Borrelli, R. Longo, F. Capasso Ed. Springer.

3. Farmacognosia: Farmaci di origine naturale. Samuelsson Gunnar. Ed. EMSI.

4. Fondamenti di Farmacognosia e Fitoterapia. Heinrich M., Barnes J., Gibbons S., Williamson E.M. Ed. Edra.

5. Farmacognosia e Fitoterapia: basi scientifiche e aspetti applicativi. Eds: G. Mazzanti, M. Dell’Agli, A.A. Izzo (PICCIN Nuova Libraria S.P.A.- Padova).

Testi di consultazione

• Manuale dell’erborista I. Morelli, G. Flamini, L. Pistelli. Ed. Tecniche Nuove.

• Fitofarmacovigilanza. F. Capasso, F. Borrelli S. Castaldo, G. Grandolini. Ed. Springer